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FRANCE: ’s Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez (left) celebrates with Barcelona’s Brazilian forward Neymar da Silva Santos Junior after scoring his first goal during the UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg football match. — AFP Suarez double blows PSG away

PARIS: Luis Suarez hit a brilliant second-half double as goals at this stage of the competition in each of the last Messi, who has scored 45 goals in all competitions this the second half, and both Javier Pastore and Rabiot forced Barcelona appeared to end Paris Saint-Germain’s two seasons, including against Barca in 2013, but they will season, provided a 25th assist soon after, sliding a pass into saves from ter Stegen, before Barcelona were dealt an Champions League dream for another year with a 3-1 do well to even make it that close on this occasion. And the path of Neymar, who finished across Salvatore Sirigu injury blow of their own as captain Andres Iniesta had to quarter-final, first leg win at the Parc des Princes yesterday. their evening was further marred by the loss of captain with the PSG defence posted missing after Adrien Rabiot be stretchered off after taking a knee in the lower back The visitors’ all-star attack made their class count as , who hobbled off just after Neymar’s opener lost possession on the right wing. from Pastore. Neymar coolly converted from a Lionel Messi assist in the with an apparent thigh problem. After crashing into Messi in the lead-up to that goal, However, Barcelona again undid the PSG defence mid- 18th minute to put Luis Enrique’s men in control, before A dejected Silva walked straight off the field to have his Silva hobbled off, and Luiz had taken his place in time to way through the second half, Suarez eliminating Luiz and Suarez produced two classy finishes in the final quarter of left thigh bandaged up, not even waiting until his fellow- see Neymar cut into the box and send in a shot that Sirigu, as he cut into the area from the right before the game. Brazilian David Luiz was ready to take his place. this time, saved comfortably. holding off Maxwell and prodding past the despairing PSG got one back eight minutes from time thanks to a The former Chelsea stopper was a surprise inclusion in It took 35 minutes for PSG to force Marc-Andre ter Sirigu at his near post. deflected Gregory van der Wiel strike, but this was their the squad after travelling to Russia to undergo treatment Stegen in the Barcelona goal into a save, and even then it Ter Stegen blocked a thunderous Cavani shot before first home defeat of the season and a first loss at home in on a hamstring injury that was expected to sideline him for was an easy catch as Edinson Cavani hooked a Maxwell the classy Suarez struck again on 79 minutes, playing a Europe in 34 matches since 2006. around three more weeks. But even with Silva on the field, cross on target. quick one-two with and nutmegging Next Tuesday’s second leg at the Camp Nou now looks Paris looked uncomfortable against the Barcelona attack. There was a further scare for the hosts as Sirigu came the hapless Luiz before lashing a shot high into the top- set to be a formality, even if PSG will have their talisman The match was only 14 minutes old when Suarez found up clutching his left arm after falling awkwardly while sav- right corner. That appeared to be that, although PSG were Zlatan Ibrahimovic and midfield maestro Marco Verratti Messi on the edge of the area, the Argentine controlling ing a Suarez shot, but the Italian goalkeeper was able to given the smallest glimmer of hope when a Van der Wiel back from suspension by then. the ball and curling a wicked shot off the left post before it carry on. volley from outside the area beat ter Stegen with the aid of The French champions have been eliminated on away rebounded out to safety. PSG had a greater purpose about them at the start of a decisive touch off substitute Jeremy Mathieu. —AFP Global sports gambling Porto poised for semis worth up to $3 trillion after stunning Bayern DOHA: The global sports betting Jay, a former director of trading at PORTO: Porto have one foot in the time European champions immediately on market is worth up to $3-trillion, the the Hong Kong Jockey Club, said ille- Champions League’s semi-finals after their the back foot. vast majority of that generated by gal gambling in Asia was driven by shock 3-1 win at home over Bayern Munich in In the opening exchanges, Martinez illegal gambling, a United Nations matches which are shown live on tel- yesterday’s Champions League quarter-final, pressed Bayern Xabi into a conference on crime being held in evision there and played at the right first leg. rare mistake on the edge of the area and Doha heard yesterday. time for a betting audience. “The key Porto carry a weighty advantage to charged straight at . Patrick Jay, a British-based inde- driver of demand in the global gam- Munich for Tuesday’s return leg at the Allianz The goalkeeper brought the pendent betting expert, said around ing market is the time zone, because Arena while Bayern have a glimmer of hope Porto skipper down trying to clear the danger 65 per cent of that global figure was the market is Asia and therefore if after their away goal, but still need to score at and when Spanish referee Carlos Carballo spent on football betting, with the Gillingham versus Orient (two least twice at home. pointed to the spot, Quaresma drilled home Asian market the centre of sports English third-tier sides) is 7pm on a The Portuguese will be without Real the third-minute penalty. gambling. Saturday night in Asia on TV, that’s -bound defender Danilo, who is sus- Porto doubled their lead when Dante took Tennis and cricket account for a going to drive greater turnover than pended after picking up a late yellow, but too long on the ball, Quaresma pressed him further 12 per cent each of that $3- Barcelona versus Real Madrid, which Porto deserved their win after exploiting mis- into a mistake and sprinted clear before some trillion, said Jay who was speaking at is at four o clock in the morning, and takes by Bayern’s Xabi Alonso and Dante. “We clinical finishing put the hosts 2-0 up after just a session on match-fixing in sport at that’s a fact,” said Jay. always want to play from the back and this ten minutes. the week-long UN Congress on He added that “China is becom- style can sometimes be dangerous, but mis- It was his fifth goal in three games for the Crime Prevention and Criminal ing the epicentre of the problem” takes are part of football,” said Bayern captain 31-year-old Portugal veteran. Bayern were Justice, currently being held in Doha. and up to one billion euros can be DOHA: Qatar’s Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh . without injured wingers and Jay told the conference session gambled on a single game of foot- Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al-Thani stands as International “The 3-1 defeat hurts, but nevertheless Franck Ribery, plus midfielder Bastian that a conservative estimate was ball. Centre for Sports Security President Mohammed Hanzab (left) and there is still all to play for in the return leg.” Schweinsteiger, but still enjoyed 70 percent that the betting market was worth The high-level conference session United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Executive Director Yury Host coach Julen Lopetegui got one over his possession and made it count by scoring from around one trillion. However, he said was attended by the Qatari Prime Fedotov sign a partnership agreement to strengthen investiga- ex-Barcelona team-mate with their first real chance. afterwards, he thought the figure Minister, Abdullah bin Nasser bin tions and prosecutions into match-fixing and manipulation of Porto poised for a first semi-final appearance Centre-back Jerome Boateng put in a low was much higher. Khalifa Al Thani, Yury Fedotov, of the sports competitions. — AFP since 2004 when they won the Champions cross from the right and Thiago stabbed home “The trillion is all global sports UN Office on Drugs and Crime League under Jose Mourinho. from close range to put the Bavarians back in betting, of which the illegal amount (UNODC), and chaired by British sharing, protection of whistle-blow- Hershman, a member of the ICSS Lopetegui had said Porto needed to be the the game. It was the 23-year-old’s first would be 90 per cent of it,” he told peer, Lord John Stevens. ers and seizure of assets for those advisory board, said the issue of cor- ‘perfect protagonists’ against Guardiola’s European game for more than a year after AFP. “I’ll let you into a secret,” he con- UNODC and the Doha-based implicated in wrongdoing. Fedotov ruption in sport and how it had been Bayern and they got off to a dream start as back-to-back knee injuries and the first tinued. “I say the trillion figure International Centre for Sports told the session that “organised ignored “was rising to the level of a right winger Ricardo Quaresma scored twice Champions League goal of his career. because I can just about get away Security (ICSS), which tries to pro- crime and how it uses match-fixing, monumental scandal”. in the opening ten minutes. It finished 2-1 at the break, but only with it without being laughed off mote integrity in sport, hosted the corruption and illegal betting are He added, that in his personal Bayern pulled one back through Thiago Neuer’s reflex save tippped a shot by Mexico stage. meeting. issues that sport, law enforcement opinion, he was “very, very uncom- Alcantara with 28 minutes gone. But Porto midfielder Hector Herrera over the bar to deny “The fact of the matter is, the vast The two organisations and government cannot shy away fortable” with the idea that betting captain Jackson Martinez, a surprise inclusion Porto a third goal with nearly an hour gone. majority of people think it is less announced a new partnership on from”. groups were sponsoring football in the starting line-up after six weeks out with Their third came when Boateng mistimed than that, the only three or four peo- Wednesday to “strengthen investiga- Last year, the World Anti-Doping teams as happens in some countries, a hamstring injury, added their third on 65 his jump and Martinez accelerated onto the ple in the world that I actually tions and prosecutions into match- Agency (WADA) said 25 per cent of including . “I think it sends the minutes for his 27th goal of the season. ball and went past Neuer to leave Bayern with respect on this thinks it is two or fixing”, which includes proposed world sport was controlled by organ- wrong message through to the The hosts rattled the German giants at it all to do if they want to reach a fourth con- three times that. And it is growing.” measures such as increased data- ised crime groups. Michael youth,” he said. —AFP Porto’s Estadio do Dragao and had the five- secutive Champions League semi-final. —AFP